Diana, Guardian of Atena
by LightningWolf
Summary: This is my first Esca-fic! Pleaze be gentle in your reviews, i'm just a kid! Oh fine! Flame me if you want! Dilandau loves fire! And I love Dilandau! Oh, and this stoury is gonna be about him! So if ya love Dilly! The rating is soon to change...r+r pleaze


Yo peeps! Wuz up! Hi! Okay, this is my first Esca-fic, so be gentle. You must read this before you read the story! Sorry. Anywho, let me explain a few things. First of all, the ryuujnkuui are not the Dragon Slayers! The Dragon Slayer's will be in this a lot, but they be refered to as 'slayers or dragon slayers.  
  
Also, there isn't going to be any other Esca peeps besides the people of Zaibach. Dilandau WILL BE IN THIS FIC! That's where the romance is gonna come in. Another thing, there are two Miguels! The Dragon Slayer one and another one of my own creating. Don't get those two confused. I'll explain more after you read the fic. Enjoy!  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Escaflowne or any of it's characters.  
  
  
  
Diana rolled out onto the carpeted floor with a thud. Her eyes bolted open with a shock of surprise.  
  
"That's the third time this week," she sighed. With shaky hand, she reached up and pushed down the clamorous alarm clock. Her back ached and she was sure she was going to have a gigantic bruise on her left arm from where she had fallen. She pushed herself up from the ground and grabbed the bedpost to support her. She straightened her back and glanced for the first time at what the time the alarm clock read. 7:23.  
  
"Oh shoot, I'm gonna be late!" Diana hurried over to her dresser to select the day's attire. She picked out a white blouse with a red collar and silver buttons with a pair of flared blue jeans. The perfect outfit for her, considering her long, waving, silver hair and fiery red eyes. She slipped on her clothing, and then put her hair up in a lazy bun. Not exactly her first choice in hair styles, but if she didn't hurry, she would be late for her first day in high school.  
  
She gathered together her books and slipped on her leather shoes. She stood up and did a quick check of the room.  
  
"Okay, let's see here. Books, book bag, paper, pencils, I'm dressed and ready.oh! I almost forgot!" Diana hurried again over to her dresser. She rummaged through the top shelf until she found what she had been looking for. It was a small, bright, red box about the size of an apple. The box was trimmed with gold lining and had golden symbol on the top. The symbol looked very similar to the Hebrew Star of David, but it had teardrop- looking marks around it. It made it seem like the star was on fire.  
  
Diana carefully opened the box. Inside, placed on golden padding, was a blood red pendant. It too was shaped in the form of a teardrop. A gold chain was fastened to the pendant. It glistened in the sunlight that was pouring out of the window. Diana gently picked it up by the chain with her left hand. She set the box down again, and brought her right hand up to touch the fiery stone. It was cold. Very cold. It sent Diana a chilling sensation up her spine. She drew her hand back. A feeling of uneasiness sneaked though her body. She undid the clasp and placed the chain around her neck. She fastened the pendant and let the stone fall to her chest. All at once, the uneasiness left. It was replaced with a feeling of calmness and serenity. Also, though very faint, Diana felt a sense of duty and responsibility. She didn't know why. She shook all the feelings and thoughts out of her mind. Now was not the time to be daydreaming.  
  
She inhaled a deep breath, then gazed into the mirror and let it out. The pendant that now hung from her neck had been her grandmother's. She had given it to her for her thirteenth birthday. The birthday before her grandmother had passed away. She had given it to her in private and spoke the words that Diana would never forget.  
  
"Listen child," she had said, "what I give you know is not a simple necklace to be worn to school as a decoration. It is a gateway that will lead you to places your young mind can not begin to comprehend. You are not to wear this until your first year in a high school." Her tone had been like a gentle grandmother's, yet it ordained power and authority. Diana knew not to treat this lightly, and to heed her grandmother's words. Diana had said nothing, only nodded her head. Her grandmother had sometimes been thought of as a dreamer, and wasn't all together. She seldomly talked, and when she did, she spoke weird phrases and ridiculous sayings. Over time, the family had learned to ignore her unusual and odd remarks. Diana had been anxious to get back to her party, and excepted the gift with not much enthusiasm. She had decided to humor her grandmother by placing the pendant's case on her shelf and leaving it alone.  
  
As a reminder of her grandma, Diana had decided to keep her promise and leave the necklace alone until now. Now, the pendant finally hung from her pale neck, shining with brilliance. Diana sighed as the memory of her loving grandmother swept through her mind. They had been very close. In her grandma's younger years, they had done everything together-fishing, biking, swimming, but now it was all just a memory.  
  
With another sigh of remorse, Diana picked up her book bag and headed out the door.  
  
  
  
***  
  
The school bustled with activity as Diana stepped off the bus. She glanced over the enormous crowd of students that attended Central Amandor High. After surveying the campus grounds several times, she located her two closest companions, Kathleen and Tess.  
  
Kathleen or Kat as they called her was tall and slender. She had burnt savanna colored hair that she usually had pulled back into a ponytail. She had cerulean blue eyes that twinkled with compassion and understanding. Kat was on the track team. She was the intellectual one. She was top in her previous eighth grade class, and was president of the school council. She was smart and creative. Her two favorite pastimes were writing and volunteering for her school's events and happenings. She was also very calm and caring. She loved kids and helping out at local orphanages and shelters.  
  
Tess on the other hand, was the wild one of the group. She was a bit shorter than Kat, about the size of Diana, but was very muscular. She was on the all-star track team. She played five sports-track, soccer, basketball, volleyball, and hockey. And she was excellent at all of them. Her hair was ash blonde, and her hazel eyes flashed dangerously in the morning sunlight. Tess was a tomboy. She looked the part, talked the part, and acted the part. Nobody messed with Tess.  
  
They were standing by the main doors of the school building. When they saw Diana, they waved her over to them. Diana smirked and headed over.  
  
Kat was sitting on the edge of the stone wall that bordered the school. She was skimming through a Teen Magazine pamphlet. As Diana approached, her gazed shifted from the magazine to her. Her eyes brightened as she put down the magazine.  
  
"Diana!" she called, "Over here!" Diana picked up her pace and hurried over to meet her friends.  
  
"Hey Diana," Tess began, "Long time, no see."  
  
"Huh, dido," Diana replied. Tess motioned her to come and sit with her on the wall. Diana made room for herself between Kat and Tess.  
  
"Oh," Diana sighed, "and so begins another year of learning experience," she said as she slouched her back forward placing herself in a humped position.  
  
"Not just any year," Kat said enthusiastically, "we're now freshmen!" But Tess wasn't as excited as Kat was about high school.  
  
"Whoop de doo," she said sarcastically.  
  
"What's wrong with you?" Diana inquired.  
  
"Oh, come on Diana! Don't you realize it's the end of summer and the beginning of homework, strict teachers, and school events?"  
  
"Hey! Don't be diss'n the school events!" Kat shouted.  
  
"Well, I must agree with you on the homework, now that we're in high school I bet the load's gonna be doubled."  
  
"Yeah, you're probably right," Kat admitted.  
  
"But there's always basketball and hockey to make up for the disappointments of school," Tess said as she gathered together her books.  
  
"I guess so," Diana said simply. "You guys checked out the inside yet?"  
  
"Nope, but I got the 411 on the new teachers this year," Tess piped up.  
  
"Really? I thought there weren't any. My neighbor who's a senior said it was gonna be the same staff,"  
  
"Well, apparently not. I heard they got a new 'Mr. Kanzaki.' They say he's gonna be teach'n 9th grade English."  
  
"Hmmm.interesting. But Tess you're forgetting that we've never met any of these teachers before, so it doesn't really matter for us who's new and who isn't."  
  
"Chill out. I'm just fill'n ya in. Ya don't have to be so snobby about it."  
  
"Well, sorry, I'm just saying. Anywho, we've gotta go find our lockers before the bell rings. You remember the last year, it took like six billion times to get that thing open. I don't work well with combinations."  
  
"Ain't that the truth! Ya remember the time you locked your dad in the storage bin, and then you couldn't get him out because you couldn't figure out the combo. That was too funny! Kat and I couldn't stop laughing afterwards!"  
  
"Shut up Tess. As I recall, it was you who had to go down to the counselor's on the first day of fifth grade 'cause you were crying cause couldn't your locker open. Now that was funny."  
  
"Very funny. Ha, ha, ha."  
  
"Would you two stop bickering! We are going to be late for class!" Kat slid of the wall and swung her book bag over her right shoulder. She glanced toward the others.  
  
"You coming? Or are ya gonna just sit around like lumps on a log all day?"  
  
Diana and Tess exchanged glances, then they too hopped down from the ledge and took up their book bags. Satisfied, Kat swung around and headed toward the school doors.  
  
"Yes Mom," Tess mumbled. The two both snickered under their breath as they hurried to catch up with their friend.  
  
  
  
***  
  
Diana quietly flipped though the pages of her homework. The first day had gone smoothly, no problems with school rivals, but the homework was atrocious. She had three pages of math, her most hated subject, an essay on what you did over the summer and how you thought high school was going to be like, read the first five chapters in he history book, and start preparing for a science test that was in two weeks.  
  
Diana exhaled a long sigh. She would never be able to meet Kat and Tess at the park as she'd promised with all this work. Diana spun her deep sea blue chair around to face her computer. She cracked and flexed her knuckles as she prepared to type on her old friend. The computer was her sanctuary. Being the writer that she, her parents had bought her a computer system at age eleven, and a laptop to start out her first year in high school. Writing by hand didn't work for her, but she loved to type. Lately she had been working on a writing project. Over the summer, she'd worked on a book series for fun. Kat and she had created a children's series two summers ago. Writing was Diana's passion.  
  
She flipped on the switch and waited as the Microsoft screen came on. She then clicked into the Microsoft Word program. Selecting a disk, she slipped it into her zip drive. Then she began to type.  
  
Lost in her work, Diana barley realized how long she'd been typing. She glanced toward the clock. It read 6: 57. Deciding to take a break, Diana slid off her chair and walked toward her bathroom. She was tired and dirty. What she needed was a shower. Taking her hair down, Diana turned on the water. She sighed and inhaled the warm steam. It was going to be a long year.  
  
***  
  
Diana slipped on a housecoat and disappeared into her room. She shut the door with her left foot and then locked it. Her parents would be home soon and Diana didn't particularly want to enthrall them with her first day of school. She sat down on her bed. Then something caught her eye. She shifted her gaze to her mirror that sat perched on her dresser.  
  
In her reflection she saw the red pendant. She had totally forgotten about it. It shone fiery red as it had that morning, except something was different about it. As Diana looked closer at the mirror, and she realized the pendant was glowing. A red light spilled in and out of it. It was flashing. Red then bright red, then red again. In shock, Diana stood a moment transfixed looking into the mirror. Suddenly, she felt a fiery sting through her shirt. Her head jerked down to the glowing stone. Pain shot through her entire body. Her hand lurched toward the pendant. It felt like it was on fire. Diana flinched in pain as a cry escaped her lips.  
  
Diana fell to the floor shrieking in pain. Never before had she felt a sensation like this. Of course, never before had Diana ever been burned. The sting finally reached her brain. She felt as if her head would soon explode. She pressed her hands to it. Then a sound like no other entered her ears. A shriek higher than any she had ever heard before. The sound engulfed her entire head. Her sight started to go. Diana felt as if she was being pulled into the depths of a fiery pit. Then, as all her senses save her hearing started shutting down, a vision flashed though her mind. It was like a dream. She could see it, yet she couldn't see it. It wasn't her real eyes that were allowing her to see this strange illusion.  
  
At first, the vision was quite vague and unclear. Then it began to unveil its pictures. The first thing Diana saw was a beautiful land. A field lain with flowers and majestic plants stood before her eyes. A stream flowed gently between two, old oak trees. A distant smell punctured her nose. She recognized it, yet she couldn't define it. Nor could she place where she had smelled it before. It was like an ancient memory. One that had long been forgotten, but now was rekindling up again in her mind.  
  
Before she could think about it, the vision was gone and another one swept through her brain. This one was strange. Five symbols appeared. They were surrounded by darkness. The symbols were exact replicas of the one on the box that Diana's pendant had been placed in. But as she studied them more closely, she realized that they all were different colors and all had a ring surrounding the individual symbol. There was a symbol in middle, and the other four on each corner of the center one. The symbols began glowing as the pendant had done.  
  
In a flask of light, they too were gone. This time, a vision unlike the others appeared. A dark figure stood in the middle of an open field. The figure's back was towards Diana, but she could that it was cloaked in a black robe. It turned toward Diana. She could see it held a staff in its left hand. The staff was made of sapphire with a black handle. It had golden designs on the pole part. The top was made of a dark medal. It was shaped like a diamond with spines on each side sticking out of it. Though the metal was darker than black, it seemed to have strange light to it. The uneasy feeling aroused again in Diana as it had done with the pendant.  
  
The figure then unhooded itself. There before Diana stood a boy probably a little older than she. Irises of blue held capture by locks of dark, black hair gazed mysteriously at Diana. The boy's mouth twitched upward forming malevolent smirk. He cast out a hand towards Diana. For a moment, she felt somehow drawn to it, like it had cast a spell over her. A negative energy emerged from the diamond on the staff. Suddenly, the boy abruptly jerked the staff and aimed it toward Diana. Crimson colored light shot forth from the rod. Before Diana had a chance to think, the light struck her. At that moment the visions ended. But she didn't return back to her reality, nor did she see another dream. At that point in time, Diana passed out.  
  
***  
  
Diana awoke in dim lit room. She wasn't exactly sure just how long she'd been out. She was lying on a canapé bed, covered in satin sheets. Soft pillows padded her head and back.  
  
Diana pushed herself up. The blanket of silk that had been covering her now fell onto her lap. She looked down. She was clothed in a pure white, sleeveless, silk gown. None of her regular clothes were anywhere to be found.  
  
She flung the sheets off of her and swung herself over the edge of the bed. Standing up, Diana took a look around. The only thing that illuminated the room was a small candle on side table next to the bed. Diana let out a moan. Her head ached like never before. The red pendant still accented her chest. It was no longer glowing, though it seemed to be a deeper red than it had before.  
  
Diana looked about to try and find a way of exiting the dark room. She located a metal door. But when she walked over to it, she found it locked. She went and sat back down on the bed. A million questions flew through her mind. Where was she? Who had taken her here and placed her in the room? More importantly, how was she going to get out and back to her home?  
  
As Diana pondered these questions, a clicking noise interrupted her thoughts. Her head jerked towards the door. Light beamed in. Diana squinted as her eyes became accustomed to the brightness. When they had adjusted, she saw a figure standing in the doorway.  
  
A young man, probably around the age of twenty stood before her. He was dressed in a black sleeveless training shirt with dark pants. His muscular arms were crossed in front of him. Black wisps of hair flowed down into dark eyes. He took a step toward Diana.  
  
"So I see you're awake," he said calmly. Diana didn't know what to make of this person. He reminded her of the boy in her dream, but somehow she felt a strange trust towards him. But she had known way to many deceivers in her time, and with all that had happened, she wasn't about to trust this new person.  
  
"Who are you? Why I'm I here? Where is here?" she asked accusingly. A smirk crossed his face as he let out a laugh.  
  
"So I see that you do have an attitude. Well, I would too if I were in your spot. I am no one you need fear. My name is Miguel. 'Here' is The High Council of Atena's aircraft. As for why you're here Diana, you'll find that out soon enough."  
  
Diana crossed her arms as a dark look came across her face.  
  
"How'd you know my name?" Miguel laughed.  
  
"Know your name! I know everything about you! I know your favorite food, favorite department store, favorite color.I know everything about you."  
  
"Look, I don't know who you are, and frankly I don't have any reason to trust you. I don't how I got here, or why I'm here. Oh, and another thing, where are MY clothes. I don't know what you people think fashion is, but I can tell you that this is definitely BAD fashion! I want my clothes right NOW!" Diana said frantically. By now she was taking desperate breaths of air. While she was trying to catch her breath she noticed Miguel. He seemed to find this amusing.  
  
"What you wear in your world is extremely different from this one. If you were to have worn what you had on, you would be considered a demon."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Never mind, you'll understand everything soon. Follow me. I'll take you to the lady Cordellia; she wanted to see you once you were awake. She'll explain to you what all is happening."  
  
Still a little dazed from everything, Diana decided to follow him. After all, she didn't really have much of a choice.  
  
"Fine. I'll go with you to this Cordellia person. But I still don't trust though."  
  
"Of course, I wouldn't have it any other way."  
  
***  
  
Diana walked along side Miguel through the long, dark hallways. The only light there was came from the few torches posted on the steel walls. The halls were lined with steel doors. Panels accompanied the doors. The hallway twisted and turned. It was like a labyrinth to Diana. Several boys about the same age as Diana dressed in blue and red armor passed them. They all seemed to have a fearful respect for Miguel. Just exactly who was this Miguel? Diana pondered the question.  
  
Miguel led Diana to the end of a long hallway. There, at the end, stood to great doors. They were decorated with precious stones such as diamond and opal. Two guards stood watch on each side of the door. They held spears with sapphire heads on them.  
  
All the sudden, Diana felt a strange feeling came over her. She glanced down. The pendant was glowing again. Fear swept through her. Remembering the last time the pendant had glowed, she stopped, but before she could say anything, Miguel took her arm and pulled her on.  
  
The guards, like the boys bowed respectfully to him. They then pushed the door open. Diana was astounded at the enormous room. Though it was dark, an abnormal light came from the center of it. As she looked closer, Diana could see a blue energy lingering in what seemed to be a gigantic capsule that stretched to the top of the room. Diana stood stunned at the shear brightness of it. Then, Diana noticed, Miguel wasn't standing beside her anymore. She swung her head about trying to locate him. She found him in the middle off the room standing beside another figure.  
  
The figure was a woman dressed in exotic clothes. Diana's mouth dropped open as her eyes widen. This woman was a priestess. And from the designs and markings on her clothing, a very high priestess at that. Golden silk sashes covered a pure white gown. Red belts with golden designs streamed down her front and onto the floor.  
  
The woman's hair was a goldish-red. Her face was kind and gentle, like the face of a grandmother's, though she was much younger, probably in her late twenties. Around her neck hung a pendant that was exactly the same as Diana's. She also noticed that the women had a marking on here forehead. It was the same one that the pendant's box had. For the first time, Diana noticed that Miguel also had the same marking on his forehead. Both of the symbols were gold. The women smiled and took a step toward Diana.  
  
"Greetings young one," she said simply, "welcome to Atena."  
  
Diana realized she must look incredibly stupid just standing there with her mouth open. She abruptly clamed it shut.  
  
"I'm assuming you're wondering why you're here. Am I correct?"  
  
Diana only nodded for her mouth wouldn't allow her to speak.  
  
"I am Lady Cordellia, leader of Atena's high council. I'm sorry to have had to have you brought here so suddenly and they way I did, but I had no other choice. Let me explain. Your world and the world of Atena are sister worlds. They are very much alike, yet there are quite a few differences. Diana, this may come as a shock to you, but you are a ryuujnkuui."  
  
"A what?"  
  
"A ryuujnkuui. They are the guardians of Atena. Ryuujnkuui have very special powers. And many special powers at that. I along with Lord Miguel are ryuujnkuui as well. A very long time ago, the world of Atena came under attack by a powerful, dark force known as Zaibach. The most powerful beings on Atena, the ryuujnkuui, were pledged to serve as Atena's guardians, and help fight the evil of Zaibach. And so they fought the War of Darkness, for the light was vanishing quickly.  
  
"The leader of the of the ryuujnkuui at that time, your great, great, great grandmother, Titania sealed away the evil of Zaibach with a powerful spell that only the ancient ryuujnkuui knew how to use. For two millennia the power of Zaibach was concealed away by the power of the ancient ryuujnkuui in the heart of Atena. Titania used all of her life force during the incantation. She gave her life for people of Atena. The legacy was passed on to her daughter, your great, great grandmother. But you see, ryuujknuui can live up to hundreds of years, so the time of your great, great grandmother was quite a while few centuries ago."  
  
"Okay, so let me get this straight, you're saying that I'm some great granddaughter of some ancient leader of this Atena world. Yeah, right. Well, first of all, I think you people are off your rockers, and second, I can't be the great granddaughter because I know my heritage pretty well-my great, great, great grandmother wasn't Titania or whatever her name is, because my real great, great, great grandmother was named Tasha. So I can't be her descendent. You've got the wrong girl."  
  
"Let me explain, you are not really the girl your parents think you are. You were reincarnated into the body of their daughter. You are not truly their daughter. They were chosen to serve as your human parents. You were reborn to them. But actually your parents were ryuujnkuui."  
  
"Uh huh. Yeah sure. Then who really are my parents hmm.? Answer me that question."  
  
"Diana, I'm your mother."  
  
Diana stood stunned, then she relaxed.  
  
"Oh right. You don't think I'm going to believe that do you? I mean you're like what thirty? I'm fifteen."  
  
"Diana, whether you believe it or not, you are my daughter. I'm actually two hundred and fifty seven. As I told you before, ryuujnkuui live a very long time. Our bodies don't age like the bodies of humans. You are a ryuujnkuui. Which brings me to why you were raised on Earth instead of Atena. When you were born the spell of which Titania sealed Zaibach was broken. Evil returned once again to Atena. You were a newborn, and being of ryuujnkuui blood, you were in grave danger. The power of Zaibach would hurt you first and easiest to kill. And since you were the next heir to throne of Atena, you would be their first target. So I sent you to Earth to be reborn to your human parents. Your human grandmother was loyal to Atena. She was one of the dew who knew about Atena. So she was intrusted with your energist."  
  
"My what?"  
  
"Your energist-the pendant. Your power. You see, since you were growing up with humans and didn't have me or a Miguel to train you, you couldn't have any of your powers. You were young and inexperienced. But now at fifteen, you're mature enough. That's the age we planned to bring you back to Atena. Your body would be strong enough to withstand Zaibach, and would be able to accept the power of the ryuujnkuui. The moment you put the pendant on it would become a part of you, and would permit you to receive your powers. That's why you began to feel those feelings, and that's why you eventually passed out. Any other person of Earth or Atena that put the pendant on would have been killed instantly. If Zaibach were to have gotten it, it would have been disastrous. So the ancient ryuujnkuui placed a spell upon the pendant, so that only its rightful owner would be able to wear it."  
  
"Okay this is just a little confusing, but let me try and get it. You're saying that I have some ancient power dwelling inside of me? And what was up with you or Miguel training me? Why would he train me?"  
  
"Miguel is your guardian. He's sworn to protect and train you. And yes, you do have ancient powers inside you know. Have you looked in a mirror lately?"  
  
"Uh.no, not lately. Why?"  
  
The women smiled. She waved her hand and in an instant a mirror stood before Diana. Diana looked closely. She gasped. There, inscribed on her forehead was the same symbol Cordellia and Miguel each had-the blazing, golden Star of David.  
  
Diana gazed at the mirror unable to speak. Then, she finally got the words out.  
  
"Um.okay, let's say I do start kinda believing this stuff, but why all the sudden bring me back here? Not to be rude or anything, but I've been born and raised on Earth, I have a life. So why just suddenly bring me here?"  
  
"Diana, as I told before, Zaibach has risen, and evil has befallen Atena once again. And as I also told you, the ryuujnkuui are the guardians of Atena. You are ryuujnkuui, so you are a guardian. And, being my daughter, you are the next heir to Atena's throne."  
  
"What?! Throne?"  
  
"Oh, I forgot to mention, I'm the empress of Atena. You are the next royal leader. I know this comes as big shock, but you cannot alter your fate as a ryuujnkuui, and as my daughter. You've brought back to claim your destiny as a guardian and princess of Atena.  
  
"You will be tested. To fully be able to user your powers, you will have to prove yourself. Every ryuujnkuui must pass this test. Yours, however, will be different from the others'. There are five emblems of the ryuujnkuui. The one that you, Miguel, and I bear is the emblem of Light. It is the most powerful of the symbols. You already have this emblem. Your test is to capture the other four of Fire, Water, Life, and the emblem of Darkness. The emblem of Darkness will be the hardest to acquire. These emblems when placed together will merge to make the Power of Titania. This power will grant you total control of your powers. This is the first test you will have as a guardian of Atena. After that, you will be trained to be the empress and protector of Atena."  
  
"Um.just exactly am I suppose to get these emblems?"  
  
"Very simple. All you have to do is locate them, capture them, then take them to the Shrine of Atena and say an incantation to merge them together. But you must do it before the rise of the new moon. If you don't the emblems will be drained of their power and won't help you at all."  
  
"Okay, but how am I suppose to locate them?"  
  
"Your pendant. It will point you in the direction of each emblem."  
  
Diana looked at the older women in confusion. She had blasted with this new knowledge. Miguel spoke for the first time since they had been in the room.  
  
"Diana, don't be afraid. You will learn easily. I'll be there to help you. You need to trust us. You are no longer just a simple girl in high school. You are the guardian of our world."  
  
***  
  
Diana walked with Miguel back to her room. She was exhausted from everything. Everything she knew, he parents, her world, her life had all been a lie. A feeling of remorse and sadness formed in the pit of her stomach. She lowered he eyes to the floor.  
  
Miguel noticed her sadness. He tried to find something to say but he knew that nothing he could say would change what she feeling. Then Diana spoke.  
  
"Miguel, why did those boys and the guards bow and respect you like that? It was like you were there fearful superior."  
  
"Well, I guess I sort of am. I'm the general of the ryuujnkuui army, and previous guardian of your mother, and now of you. You see, your mother doesn't need me anymore, but you're her daughter and you do need a guardian."  
  
"Oh, I guess that explains it. By the way, just exactly how am I supposed to get around? I mean it's gonna take forever to walk, and I don't think Atena has car does it?"  
  
Miguel laughed. "No we don't have cars. But you're not going to walk. Before you go on your quest, I'm going to teach you a little on how to use your power. Follow me, let's go to the training room."  
  
***  
  
Diana followed Miguel into a large room full of equipment. Weapons of all sorts were hung on huge walls made of steel. Diana looked in awe. Several of the boys that had passed them earlier were busy training. When they saw Miguel they stopped abruptly. Every person in the room saluted Miguel and Diana. Diana felt the gaze of the boys and nervousness came over her.  
  
She followed Miguel the back of the room. There stood another door with panel beside it. Miguel typed in some numbers into the panel. The door clicked open. Diana stepped beside Miguel into the next room. It, like the room where she had met Cordellia was dark and hardly lit.  
  
Several balls of blue energy swirled in the room. In the center was a platform. Miguel led Diana to it.  
  
"The first thing you need to know is how to transport yourself from one place to another. It's very simple. All you have to do is focus your mind to where you want to go. Like this,"  
  
Suddenly Miguel disappeared. Diana swung her head around trying to find him. He reappeared in a far corner of the room.  
  
"See," he called, "it's easy." He disappeared again and reappeared in front of her.  
  
"Now you try."  
  
"Okay, I'll try." Diana closed her eyes concentrated on the place where Miguel had first gone. She felt a rush past her face, and when she opened her eyes she was no longer on the platform, but in the corner of the room.  
  
"Wow," she said a little surprised, "I did it." Miguel smirked.  
  
"Of course you did."  
  
***  
  
Diana wasn't sure what time they stopped. Miguel had taught her how to communicate through telepathy. He taught her on how to defend herself against anything that might come across her path. He had said that Zaibach would be watching, and would try and stop her from acquiring the emblems.  
  
Diana lay in her room thinking about the next morning. She would leave to go on her quest that morning. She tried to sleep, but she couldn't stop thinking. What had just happened in these last twenty-four hours? Instead of doing her homework she had been preparing to the four emblems of Atena. How on Earth did that happen?  
  
'It's interesting how a person's life can be changed in an instant,' Diana thought to herself. Eventually, Diana thoughts swirled together, and she fell into a deep sleep.  
  
***  
  
The next morning, Diana woke up to the pounding on her door.  
  
"Who is it?" she called sleepily.  
  
"Miguel," he called back.  
  
"Oh, come in."  
  
The door clicked and Miguel walked in. He carried something under his left arm.  
  
"This is for you," he said as came and sat on the bed beside her and gave her a blue box.  
  
"What is it?" she asked.  
  
"A training outfit," he said simply. "You didn't think we were going to send you on your journey dressed like that did you?"  
  
"Well no, I suppose not."  
  
"Open the box," Miguel told her. Diana took the blue lid off and peered inside. There, padded by white stuffing was a dark red training outfit. It consisted of a tang-top and red pants. It was a twin of Miguel's, only red.  
  
"Come to the launching pad when you're ready," he said. He had given her a tour of the airship the day before.  
  
"Alright," she replied.  
  
Miguel left Diana to put her clothing on. When she finished, she looked in the mirror that sat in a corner of the room. She looked better than she thought she would. The red matched her eyes and the pendant.  
  
Diana walked down the long hallway until she reached the launching pad for all the fighter jets on Atena's airship. There she found Miguel and Cordellia. She walked over.  
  
"I see Miguel did a good job in picking out an outfit for you," Cordellia said softly. Diana only smiled. Cordellia turned around and walked toward the edge of the ship.  
  
"Now's the time," Miguel said quietly. She nodded her head and followed him over to where Cordellia was standing.  
  
"Now Diana," Cordellia began, "I'm going to implant an image into your mind. This will be the picture for you to focus on to transport you to. When you find the first emblem, your pendant will grant you a vision on where the next one is. You should find the emblems fairly easy. Good luck Diana."  
  
Cordellia closed her eyes. Diana suddenly felt her mind being opened. A hazy picture came into view. The picture gradually became clear. It was of a mountain covered in trees. A river flowed at the base of the mountain. At the top, the mountain had a giant opening. Diana realized that this mountain was actually a volcano. This must be the place where the Fire emblem laid. Diana concentrated hard on the volcano. Suddenly, she felt a rush of wind blow past her.  
  
When she opened her eyes again, she was standing beside a large oak tree. She looked forward. There stood the great volcano. She straightened herself, then proceeded to a rock that sat at the volcano's great base. She gazed upward. The volcano, though tall, wasn't to steep.  
  
'Good,' she thought to herself, 'this will be an easy climb.'  
  
Diana started her hike up the mountain. She walked for what seemed hours, but instead of feeling tired like she would on Earth, Diana felt no strain on her legs or back. She was relaxed and felt as if she could keep going forever.  
  
Although she did begin to get hot. The heat of the volcano was making her sweat. As she started getting higher up on the mountain, she noticed that there wasn't as much plant life.  
  
Finally, when she reached the top, she saw the volcano's fiery pit. She walked over to the edge, and looked down. The lava boiled underneath her. Diana started to get the feeling that this volcano was still active.  
  
Then, a scarier thought went through her mind. How was she supposed to get the emblem? If it was somewhere in the volcano, there was no way that she could get to it. Diana looked around. All this work for nothing. Then she remembered the pendant. She gripped it in her hand and gazed down at it.  
  
Cordellia had said that it would show her where to find each emblem. She gazed harder at it. Well, there was no other option, so she might as well try it.  
  
"Um.okay, uh.er.show me where to find the emblem," she said, not believing that she was actually talking to a stone. Suddenly, the pendant began glowing again. Diana dropped the pendant to he chest. Diana stifled a scream. The pendant raised itself into the air on it own. It hovered there for a moment, then moved to point in the direction of a huge boulder.  
  
'That's not the emblem is it?' she asked herself. Feeling a tug from the pendant she walked in the direction of boulder. When she was a foot away from the boulder, the pendant dropped back down to her chest.  
  
She looked the boulder over several times. Finding no mark or sin of any kind, she stood there puzzled. Then she noticed a small crack to the right of the boulder. She noticed that there was something sticking out of the crack. It looked like a paper of some kind. She stooped down and gently lifted it out of the crack.  
  
It was a piece of paper. I very old piece of paper at that. She shook the dirt off it. It read something that she couldn't understand. It was in some native tongue. Only when she look at the bottom could she read anything.  
  
At the bottom of the paper it read, Say these words to the mountain you speak, and you will find the sign you seek.  
  
Diana decided she might as well try this, talking to the pendant worked and maybe this would too. She turned to face the fiery pit. Then she began to read,  
  
"Tyoo chant de, fol se unto deblen hegre expli gen bwe a too lae en!" she called. Suddenly there was a chilling silence. Then Diana felt a rumbling under her feet.  
  
'Uh oh,' she thought to herself, 'this is definitely not good.' Suddenly, the volcano erupted. Lava spewed all around. Diana shut he eyes and tensed preparing to be hit by the volcanic rocks, but they never came. She opened her eyes. There was a light glowing around her. It was like a force field protecting her.  
  
When the mountain finally stopped erupting, Diana looked up. There, glowing like the Sun, was a perfectly round golden stone with the bright red symbol indented in it.  
  
"Wow," Diana said aloud, "it worked." Remembering what Miguel had taught her about using telepathy to move things with her mind, Diana stretched a hand out toward the stone. It came abruptly to her hand. She grasped it to her. The first sign had been found.  
  
Then Diana saw another vision. This one was of a great ocean. The emblem of Water. She concentrated hard again. In an instant she was standing on a cliff with vast waves swaying under her. The pendant glowed again, then pointed in the direction of the ocean. It seemed to be pointing directly to the center.  
  
This time, instead of dropping down to her chest the pendant flashed white. I red beam flowed out from it into the sea. While the red light was still glowing, a white one came from the ocean's depths. Water erupted from the ocean like the lava from the volcano. It was like a geyser.  
  
Diana shielded herself from the splashing water. When she lifted her head again, she saw the emblem of Water.  
  
'Cordellia was right, this is easy.' But just as she was about to call the sign to her, something behind her snapped. Diana froze, not daring to turn around. Then, she felt an icy breath on her neck. Panic and fear shot through her. Whatever was behind her was definitely evil. She slowly turned around.  
  
What she saw horrified her. There, standing before was figure dressed in a dark cloak. The being was at least two heads taller than she was. It stood, glaring down at her with red beady eyes.  
  
Diana thought she was going to faint. There was no escape. She stood between this creature and the ocean. There was only one option.  
  
Without another thought, Diana swung around and dove into the chilly water. When she surfaced, she didn't bother looking to see where that thing was. She just swam as fast as she could toward the emblem of Water. Identical to the Fire, the emblem of Water was indented in blue instead of red. She summoned it to her.  
  
Grasping the stone, Diana pleaded to be shone the next vision. Finally, she was granted it. She saw a forest covered with exotic flowers and plants. It must be where the sign of Life was. She concentrated till her brain hurt, not wanting to be anywhere near that thing that had been behind he.  
  
Diana opened her eyes. Still kicking, Diana realized she was lying on a forest floor. She stopped, and pushed herself up. Not wanting to know of the thing had followed her; she broke out into a full run. While running, she saw the pendant glowing. Running in the direction it indicated, Diana took in deep breaths.  
  
After running for what seemed hours, she saw an enormous tree. It looked like a great Sycoiya, but the leaves seemed to have blue tone to them. Also, there was a strange light about it. Diana looked around trying to find where the symbol of Life was. That's when she noticed a mark on the tree that she hadn't before. It had the same symbol as the others, but it wasn't the emblem. She gently placed her hand on it. She felt a pulse-like beating. It was if she could feel the heart of the tree.  
  
Then, she felt nothing. Nothing was there anymore. Without any support Diana fell onto what would have been the tree. Instead of falling onto the tree, she fell into the tree. She looked around her. She was actually inside the tree. It looked even bigger inside than it had on the outside. Diana got a rubbed her arm. She had fallen one to many times.  
  
Looking around, Diana found what she had been looking for. Placed in another blue energy ball, Diana could see the emblem of Life. She hurried over and took the stone in her hand. She placed it along with the others in the nap sack Miguel had given her before she'd left.  
  
Then, the final vision came to her. This time she saw a vast wasteland. It looked as if there was no life around it at all. And then there was the darkness. There was nothing but darkness. The whole land was covered. The only thing that illuminated it was the occasional flashes of lightning.  
  
Diana wasn't sure she really wanted to hurt her brain concentrating to get to this place. But she knew she had to. She shut her eyes. She concentrated on the picture in her mind.  
  
She was transported to the land of darkness. She opened her eyes and gazed over vast land. A wind swept passed her, tossing her silver locks about.  
  
She looked down at the pendant. It glowed, but it was much darker and duller than it had been. Diana began to walk toward the faraway mountains that loomed in the distance.  
  
About halfway to the mountains, Diana felt the sense of evil come upon her again. She'd had enough. She concentrated on the mountains. In another rush she stood at their foothills. She gazed up at them. In a flash of lightning, Diana saw a figure standing at the top. Imiedeitly, Diana knew that she would have to take the emblem of Darkness from this creature. She began climbing.  
  
At the top, she finally got a good look at the creature. It was a woman. She was dressed in black. A silver sword with an emerald handle hung from her belt. Then she spoke.  
  
"Hello young ryuujnkuui, I am Lady Desdemona, empress of darkness."  
  
The older woman gazed at Diana.  
  
"So, I'm assuming you want emblem of Darkness don't you. You're the little ryuujnkuui brat on that stupid mission to claim all five emblems. If you think you can stop the power of Zaibach, you're very, very wrong."  
  
Diana was not intimidated with the woman. In a stronger voice than she even thought she could have made, Diana said in an authoritative voice, "I'm not here to chat Desdemona, give me what I want. Give me the emblem."  
  
"Ooh, testy aren't we. Let's hope your feet are as fast as your mouth. I'll make you a deal," she said as she pulled out from belt what had to be the emblem of Darkness, "If you can touch this before this hourglass runs out," she placed an hourglass in front of Diana, "I'll let you have the emblem."  
  
The women smiled maliciously.  
  
"You have ten minutes," with that the women disappeared with the emblem. Diana stood there not knowing what to do. Then she thought of her power. She closed her eyes and pictured the emblem of Darkness. She opened her eyes. The pendant glowed and pointed to the top of another mountain. Diana transported her self there. Then it pointed the bottom of another.  
  
Diana continued transporting herself too and from mountains. At times, she would be inches to touching Lady Desdemona and the emblem, but always a few seconds too slow. Diana stopped suddenly. She had an idea. Time was running out, and she would never touch the emblem like this.  
  
She began to think of the emblem. She pictured it in her mind. She concentrated hard. Suddenly, Diana stood face to face with a stunned Lady Desdemona. Without another thought, Diana reached out and grabbed the emblem.  
  
The look of astonishment that had been on Desdemona now left. It was replaced with and evil smirk.  
  
"Stupid girl," she said in a dark voice, "did you really think it would be that easy?" she asked. Diana looked confused at the woman. Suddenly, she felt a searing pain come over her. She collapsed onto the hard ground.  
  
She felt an energy hovering over her. Glancing up, Diana saw the boy that she had seen in her vision. He had evil look about him.  
  
He stood glaring down at her. She felt his gaze and closed her eyes.  
  
'This is definitely a bad thing,' she thought to herself. She slowly reopened her eyes. They met blazing blue ones. She gasped at how close the boy was.  
  
"So," he said coolly, "you're Diana. I finally get to meet the little heroine princess. I'm sorry to have end your little fiasco, but I really don't need a little brat running around trying to save the world of Atena." He smiled down at her.  
  
"I can't believe that fool, Miguel sent a human raised ryuujnkuui to come to the land of Darkness. He has way too much confidence in those pathetic humans." He stood up.  
  
"Well done Desdemona," he said. "I'll take care of the brat."  
  
"Yes my Lord," she replied. Then the woman disappeared. The boy turned again to the worn out Diana. He smiled to himself and raised a hand preparing to blast Diana.  
  
Diana trembled and tensed closing her eyes ready to be blasted with a high- powered energy. She heard the boy laugh. She squeezed he eyes shut. Then she heard the blast of energy. But the blast never came. Instead she heard the boy gasp. She slowly opened her eyes.  
  
There, standing between her and the boy was Miguel. He stood in black and blue armor similar to that of the boys on the airship. His hand was lifted to the now angered boy.  
  
"Zenthieus, step back." Miguel commanded. The boy only smiled.  
  
"Big brother, how are you?" he asked devilishly. Diana gasped at hearing this. Brother? No wonder Miguel had reminded her so much of this Zenthieus person. They were brothers.  
  
Miguel growled under his breath.  
  
"You are not my brother," he said deeply and angrily.  
  
"Maybe not the one you once knew," Zenthieus said in a matter-of-fact tone.  
  
Miguel met his brother's gaze.  
  
"Leave Zenthieus, before you get yourself into deeper trouble,"  
  
"Ooo, I'm scared. Miguel you always were a spoilsport. I'll leave you and that empress brat, but know this I will be watching."  
  
With that the boy disappeared. Miguel turned to help Diana. He gently pulled her up. Diana put a hand on his chest to balance herself.  
  
"Whoa, what was that about?" she asked quietly.  
  
"Zenthieus. He was my younger brother. He too is a ryuujnkuui, but during the War of Darkness, he turned to Zaibach. Now he's Zaibach's head warlord."  
  
"He's the one I saw in my vision. He had a staff in his hand though."  
  
"The Scepter of Atena. When he was still fighting for Atena, he was keeper of the sacred scepter. When he turned to evil, so did the scepter's power."  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry."  
  
"Come on, we have to hurry. Your time's almost up. You need to get the Shrine of Atena to activate the emblems."  
  
***  
  
1 Diana landed bedside Miguel in a field at the foot of another mountain. She stood up and surveyed the landscape.  
  
"Where are we?" she asked.  
  
"The Shrine of Atena," Miguel answered.  
  
"But this just looks like another regular mountain."  
  
"That's just its outside appearance. The actual Shrine is inside the mountain. Come on, we have to find the entrance."  
  
Miguel climbed up the rocky mountain with Diana at his heels. The new moon would rise tonight. It was the last day.  
  
Diana trailed behind Miguel. She was concerned about how little time they had.  
  
"Just where exactly is the entrance?" she called.  
  
"A little farther up. We should be pretty close to getting there."  
  
About half way up the mountain, Diana began to see a pathway that led to a large boulder.  
  
"I'm guessing that's the entrance?"  
  
"Correct."  
  
Miguel took Diana's hand and helped her up the last cliff. The two then proceeded to the enormous boulder. Miguel placed his hand in the center of the boulder. He then spoke in a language Diana couldn't understand.  
  
The boulder made a low, growling sound, then shifted. It slowly rolled to aside to reveal a long dark hallway.  
  
Diana followed Miguel into the darkness. They walked for what seemed like hours. Diana couldn't understand how Miguel knew where he was going because she sure didn't. She couldn't see anything. The light from the outside had vanished a long time ago, and there was nothing at the time that was lighting there way farther up the path.  
  
Then Diana ran into something. Actually, someone. Miguel had stopped.  
  
"Why'd you stop?"  
  
"We're here," he said simply. He then said something Diana again couldn't understand. Suddenly, there was a rumbling sound. Diana looked ahead. The wall of stone that had once been there exploded. Light was now pouring into the once dark path. Miguel ushered Diana into the light- filled room.  
  
In the middle of the room was a small platform. Five indentions were made in the platform. One in the very middle, and the others on each corner of it. The room was lined with gold, making even brighter than it would have been.  
  
Diana looked up. There was a pure white energy swirling at the top of the Shrine. Suddenly there was a flash of light, and a booming sound. Then, as Diana looked ahead. Cordellia and several other noblewomen stood before her.  
  
"Hello Diana," began Cordellia, "your test is almost completed. All you need to do know is simply this: place each emblem in the indentions on the platform. Then stand in the middle on the center indention."  
  
Diana did as she was told. Placing each stone in its rightful place, she moved toward the center. As Diana stood there, Cordellia, along with Miguel and the other women formed a circle around the small platform.  
  
At the same time they began reciting a chant in a tongue Diana could only guess what it meant. Suddenly, a bright light formed around Diana. She felt a jolt go through her body. A sensation went through her-one she had never felt before. Her vision started to go again. Diana could feel the blood pounding in her ears. Again, she felt the sting of fire around her. Yet she wasn't in pain. Her body seemed to be transforming into something new.  
  
As she opened her, Diana looked down. She was no longer wearing the red uniform. Now she was clothed in a pure white dress. Golden sashes with red designs hung on her shoulders. They criss-crossed around her back and came to her front again.  
  
Diana felt power. The energy of the ryuujnkuui now ran through her veins.  
  
"Well done Diana," Cordellia said, "you now are truly a guardian of Atena."  
  
  
  
So did ya like it? I know, I know, it sucked, but hey, what can I say. Okay, this is NOT a Diana/Miguel fic. Dilandau is gonna come in here soon. And totally ignore Zenthieus. He won't be that big in this story. Well, gotta go! Pleaze r+r!!!! Love ya all! Peace Out!  
  
1.1 


End file.
